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DAM-L LS: Indian power sector employees on strike to protest privatisation (fwd)

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Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 16:24:51 -0800 (PST)
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subject: LS: Indian power sector employees on strike to protest privatisation
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Indian power sector employees on token strike to protest privatisation
  December 12, 2000

NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (AFP) - More than a million Indian electricity workers 
began a one-day token strike Tuesday to protest against moves to privatise 
the power sector, union leaders said.

"We want the government to scrap the proposed new bill on privatisation," 
B. S. Meel, general secretary of the Electricity Employees Federation of 
India said.

"This is not a strike, but a mass awareness campaign where we will educate 
the public about the negative implications of the new bill."

Power supplies were not interrupted, Meel said, adding the aim of the 
strike was "to bring people onto our side."

India needs an estimated 252 billion dollars of investment in the next 
decade to generate an additional 100,000 megawatts of power to meet its 
shortfall.

Of India's total generation capacity, nearly a fifth is lost in 
transmission, distribution and large scale theft.

On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee restated the 
government's intention to introduce the new legislation in the current 
session of parliament, which ends on December 22.

According to Meel, the government had not consulted employees before 
drafting the bill, which "follows the World Bank's prescriptions."

"It does not take into account that 37 percent of Indians are still without 
electricity and neither does it insulate industry and agriculture from high 
commercial tariffs charged by the independent power producers," he added.

To correct losses incurred due to power theft during transmission and 
distribution, Meel said the government needed to upgrade the system and 
supply power on demand, rather than resort to privatisation.

"We will go on an indefinite strike only if the government resorts to 
victimisation, otherwise it will end this evening," Meel said.


  


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